After making its first flight in 2005 and entering commercial service in 2007, the Airbus A380 double-decker jumbo jet proceeded to become the flagship aircraft of the Emirates airline. This Thursday, however, it was announced that Emirates has reduced its latest order. As a result, Airbus will cease deliveries of the A380 in 2021.
Emirates had originally ordered another 162 of the planes, but the airline recently opted to drop that number to 123.
"As a result of this decision we have no substantial A380 backlog and hence no basis to sustain production, despite all our sales efforts with other airlines in recent years," said Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders. "This leads to the end of A380 deliveries in 2021. The consequences of this decision are largely embedded in our 2018 full year results."
A further 14 A380s will be delivered to Emirates over the next two years. The airline has also ordered 40 of Airbus' A330-900 and 30 of the A350-900 wide-body aircraft.
"Passengers all over the world love to fly on this great aircraft. Hence today's announcement is painful for us and the A380 communities worldwide," said Enders. "But, keep in mind that A380s will still roam the skies for many years to come and Airbus will of course continue to fully support the A380 operators."
The Airbus A380 is currently the world's largest airliner, seating 525 passengers in a three-class configuration or 853 in all all-economy setup.
Source: Airbus
It was a privilege for me to be part of the Wing Design team in Bristol in the early noughties, it was an amazing experience.